THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 439 



age : But off the coaft of Melinda, in the beginning of De- 

 cember, fhe there met an anomalous monfoon at fouth-weft, 

 in our days firft obferved by Dr Halley, which cut off her 

 voyage to Sofala, and obliged her to put in to the fmall har- 

 bour of Mocha, near Melinda, but nearer ftill to Tarfhifh, 

 which we find here by accident, and which we think a 

 ftrong corroboration that we are right as to the reft of the 

 voyage. In the Annals of Abyflinia, we fee that Arada Sion, 

 making war upon that coaft in the 14th century, in a lift 

 of the rebellious Moorifh vaffals, mentions the Chief of Tar- 

 fhifh as one of them, in the very fkuation where we have 

 now placed him. 



Solomon's vefTel, then, was obliged to ftay at Tarfhifh till 

 the month of April of the fccond year. In May, the wind 

 fet in at north-eaft, and probably carried her that fame month 

 to Sofala. All the time fhe fpent at Tarfhifh. was not loft, 

 ft>r part of her cargo was to be brought from that place, and 

 fne probably bought, befpoke, or left it there. From May 

 of the fecond year, to the end of that monfoon in October, 

 the vefTel could not ftir; the wind was north-eaft. But this 

 time, far from being loft, was neceflary to the traders for 

 getting in their cargo, which we lhall fuppofe was ready 

 for them.. 



The fhip fails, on her return, in the month of November 

 of the fecond year, with the monfoon fouth-weft, which in 

 a very few weeks would have carried her into the Arabian 

 Gulf. But off Mocha, near Melinda and Tarfhifh, fhe met 

 the north-eaft monfoon, and was obliged to go into that 

 port and ftay there till the end of that monfoon ; after which 

 a f'outh-weiter came to her relief in May of the third year.. 



With. 



